When we think about healing, we often focus on the physical.
The right medication.
The right supplements.
The right practitioner.
The right diet.
But this year taught me that healing is about so much more than that.
It begins with how we treat ourselves when life falls apart.
A Year I Never Expected
I welcomed this year full of excitement.
Instead of racing ahead with new plans and big dreams, I found myself facing one of the biggest health challenges I’ve experienced in years.
After being diagnosed with a gut bacteria, I threw everything I could at healing naturally. When my symptoms continued to worsen, I reluctantly followed my doctor’s recommendation to take medication.
Unfortunately, it left my digestive system in an even more compromised state.
I experienced severe digestive issues, brain fog, joint pain, depression and overwhelming fatigue. Eating became difficult. My world became incredibly small as I tried to identify foods that my body could tolerate.
At the same time, I was navigating perimenopause, supporting my dad through multiple hospital admissions, travelling for workshops and conferences, running my business and volunteering with Rotary.
There were many days where survival felt like enough.
The Difference This Time
Years ago, when I faced serious health challenges with autoimmune illness, my coping strategy was to disconnect.
I’d numb myself with comfort food, endless Netflix and distraction.
This time…
I couldn’t.
Instead, I had to learn an entirely different way of caring for myself.
I cooked nourishing meals.
I rested.
I spent quiet afternoons simply watching the trees move in the breeze.
I read books.
I gave myself Reiki.
I took warm salt baths.
Most importantly, I allowed myself to feel the emotions that had been sitting beneath the surface.
Anger.
Grief.
Resentment.
Fear.
Rather than pushing them away, I made space for them.
I’m No Longer Abandoning Myself
Somewhere during these months, I realised something that stopped me in my tracks.
I’m no longer abandoning myself.
That simple sentence carries years of healing.
It means I’m no longer pushing through exhaustion just to prove I’m capable.
I’m no longer ignoring what my body is asking for.
I’m no longer believing that productivity is more important than my wellbeing.
Instead, I’m learning that every nourishing meal, every boundary, every moment of rest and every act of self-compassion is a way of saying:
“I matter.”
Healing Isn’t Linear
I’m not completely healed.
My gut still has a journey ahead.
But today I have more energy than I did a few months ago.
The brain fog is lifting.
Hope is returning.
And perhaps that’s the biggest lesson of all.
Healing isn’t always about reaching the finish line.
Sometimes healing is found in the tiny choices we make every single day to stop abandoning ourselves.
A Gentle Reflection
If you’re walking through your own difficult season, I’d love to leave you with this question:
When life brings you to your knees, how do you hold yourself?
Do you numb?
Do you criticise yourself?
Or do you choose, even imperfectly, to meet yourself with compassion?
Because healing doesn’t begin when life becomes easier.
Healing begins the moment we decide to love ourselves through the hard parts too.
With love,
Alex